30 May 2013

A female Kestrel incubating

A female Kestrel incubates her five eggs, at a site in Co. Kerry (Video: John Lusby).

Using a special camera (under licence), John Lusby managed to get some amazing, high quality footage of a female Kestrel in one of our nest boxes in Co. Kerry last week. You can just see the eggs under the Kestrel as she settles over them to keep them warm. This is the nest box featured in the post below, which you can see HERE. John had checked 21 nests in the past week or so and only 8 so far showed signs of breeding. We hope to capture more great footage in the coming weeks as the season and the nests progress.

You can help!

If you have sightings of owls or nesting Kestrels, please contact us HERE.

About the survey

The Duhallow Raptor Conservation Project is co-ordinated by BirdWatch Ireland, is funded by IRD Duhallow through the LEADER 2007–2013 Programme, and is carried out in collaboration with the Duhallow Birdwatching Group. Duhallow is an important area for specific raptor populations, and this project aims to learn more about these elusive species and to implement direct conservation measures to benefit raptors on a local and national basis. The Duhallow Raptor Survey will be conducted from March 2012, and covers NW Cork and E Kerry. For more, see this page HERE.